During this time, Dr. Sun Yat-sen (1866-1925), the main leader of the 1911 Revolution, set up a provisional government in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, under the Nationalist Party with the support of General Yuan Shikai (1859-1916) who was sent to quell the rebellion by the Qing court. After reaching a power-sharing agreement with the revolutionaries, Yuan returned to Beijing and forced Emperor Xuantong to abdicate the throne. The Republic of China was established on January 1, 1912.

Initiating a new epoch

In addition to toppling the Qing Dynasty and establishing a republican government on January 1, 1912, the 1911 Revolution also spread the ideas of democracy. "It brought about earthshaking social changes in modern China that had a profound impact," said President Hu at the commemoration on October 9.

The 1911 Revolution not only rid Chinese men of humiliating ponytails and women of the excruciatingly painful tradition of foot-binding but also removed the people's blind faith in the emperor, as well as the fear of foreign powers. The event emancipated people's minds from thousands of years of oppression and self-enclosure.

Hu also highly praised Dr. Sun Yat-sen in his speech.

"The 1911 Revolution brought about more than political reform," said Zhang Haipeng, a history researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "It also freed the minds of the Chinese people and offered a new vision for salvaging and rejuvenating the Chinese nation," he said.

According to Zhang, as a result of the ending of the autocratic monarchy, more and ordinary people became aware of their rights. The 1911 Revolution also opened the door to managing the state according to a constitution. "Dr. Sun Yat-sen, for the first time, introduced the principle of government stipulating that officials at all levels should serve the people as 'public servants,'" he said.

Ma Yong, another researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that reconstructing the concept of the Chinese nation played a key part in the Chinese people's mental emancipation.

"Contrary to the Qing Dynasty rulers who practiced ethnic discrimination, the revolutionaries spread the sense of ethnic equality, helping unite different ethnic groups into the republic," Ma said.

By protecting the rights of and fostering equality among all ethnic groups, the revolutionaries raised national unity to unheard of levels, and thus helped build a Chinese nation in the modern sense of the term, Ma said.

Zhu Xiehan, a history professor at the Chinese Academy of Governance, deemed the revolution a great turning point in Chinese civilization.

"China was politically fragmented during the time, and abundant new ideas were flowing in," Zhu said. "People were faced with a slew of choices about the future of China. It was a time of wisdom, when lots of personages left their names on history. It was a liberal and free period that embraced deep observations and thoughts about the nation and the world."

The ideological emancipation brought about by the 1911 Revolution provided an environment and conditions in which various political and social theories, including Marxism, could spread. In 1921, the Communist Party of China was founded.

"Chinese Communists are the staunchest supporters, closest cooperators and most loyal inheritors of the revolutionary cause Dr. Sun Yat-sen initiated, and are dedicated to achieving and furthering the lofty aspirations of Dr. Sun Yat-sen and other revolutionary pioneers." President Hu said. "Dr. Sun Yat-sen's cherished goal of revitalizing China, as well as the longings of the other pioneers of the 1911 Revolution for a bright future, have become or are becoming a reality.".

When talking about China's future, Hu said the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation must be achieved by adhering to "socialism with Chinese characteristics."

"The correct path is the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and the core force is the Communist Party of China," Hu said, adding that "this path accords with China's realities and the demands of the times, and conforms to the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the Chinese people and the fundamental interests of the Chinese nation."

Further, Hu said in carrying out the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, "we must ensure that development is for the people and by the people and it benefits the people".

Hu also called for the peaceful reunification of China, which he said best serves the fundamental interests of all Chinese, including Taiwan compatriots.

Both sides "should carry forward the fine traditions of the Chinese culture, enhance the sense of a common national identity, constantly resolve problems on the way ahead, end cross-Straits antagonisms, and heal wounds of the past," Hu said.